Latin America - its people, its politics, its economy - has burst upon the world scene with powerful images that have captured the curiosity of many English-speaking North Americans. The strategic importance of this vast region to the stability of the Western Hemisphere serves to accentuate the need for a thoughtful contemporary exploration of its philosophical underpinnings. More than thirty years have passed since a representative collection of readings by major twentieth-century Latin American philosophers was made available in English. Jorge J E Gracia fills this long-standing gap by harvesting some of the best minds whose work is synonymous with quintessential Latin American scholarship.The selections in this valuable compendium combine the richness, the diversity, and the extraordinary intensity of fourteen great thinkers - the result of which is nothing less than a testament to the philosophical power that is unmistakably Latin American. Translations are provided for carefully chosen readings from the major works of Carlos Astrada, Augusto Salazar Bondy, Antonio Casio, Alejandro Octavio Deustua, Carlos Vaz Ferreira, Risieri Frondizi, Alejandro Korn, Francisco Miro Quesada, Samuel Ramos, Miguel Reale, Arturo Andres Roig, Francisco Romero, Jose Vasconcelos, and Leopoldo Zea. These fascinating theorists are brought together to address the themes of interpreting man, his values, and his continuous search for philosophical identity.The text is designed to guide students and professionals alike in their study of Latin American philosophy, and to serve as a point of departure for further investigation. Substantial introductory essays and short bio-bibliographical notes on the contributors chart the history of Latin American thought in this century - a history steeped in European and North American influences as well as emergent liberation movements from within.